Church News

Sharing the Journey

Greetings church family! What a wonderful opportunity to sit and pen this newsletter writeup. As I sit and compose this it is currently 6AM, I have my coffee sitting here at my end of the dining table where most of my business is conducted. Isn’t it a good thing to have that time (whenever it is during the day) to sit and think, meditate, pray, and get ready for the day? This newsletter will be covering the remaining two months of the year: November and December. You all know that I look very much forward to November every year because that means I get to spend a good deal of time in the deerstand! This year is no different; thank God for His Providence to see us to another November and December. Even though the weather has not yet caught up with the calendar, it’s a wonderful time of year. Pretty soon the radio stations and Hallmark channel will be awash with Christmas music and movies. On the other side of the coin, we’ve seen some difficult times in our nation and our world. This writeup isn’t going to re-hash any of that because I’ve preached about it a lot over the past months. BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) in Army speak, let’s give it to God. I was thinking this morning about the hymn “Have Faith in God”. Remember the chorus to that hymn: Have faith in God, He’s on His throne; have faith in God, He watches o’er His own; He cannot fail, He must prevail; have faith in God, have faith in God. As we enter into this last part of the calendar year: have faith in God. As we face possible uncertainty in the world around us: have faith in God. When there are things that come up in our own personal or family life: have faith in God. After all, isn’t that exactly what we learn from the celebration of Thanksgiving and Christmas? We thank God for His Providence, He protection, His blessings; and we thank God that in His precious love, He gave His Son to be our salvation. What wonderful promises! As we go through the waning weeks of this year, we have such blessings in worship to look forward to; namely our annual Veteran’s Sunday on November 16 followed by our annual Thanksgiving fellowship and then our celebration of the Advent and Christmas season. You don’t want to miss these blessings! Be in prayer for these services, invite people to join us in worship, and come and praise and worship the Master!

Daniel
Philippians 4:13

BUSINESS MEETING
The 2026 budget will be presented on Sunday, November 2 for review. Any changes to the budget will need to be addressed at the quarterly business meeting on Wednesday, November 12th. The 2026 budget will be presented for adoption on Sunday, November 23rd. It is very important that we have a quorum on these two dates. Please plan to attend the business meeting and worship service on the 23rd.

VETERANS DAY SERVICE & THANKSGIVING MEAL
On Sunday, November 16, there is a special service planned to celebrate Veterans and the Thanksgiving season. Be sure to invite any veterans you know, so we can honor their service to our country. Please provide the name of a veteran currently serving or has served you’d like to be included in the Veteran’s Day Sunday bulletin insert. Email Pastor Daniel or Sheila by Thursday, November 6. A covered dish Thanksgiving meal will be held after the worship service. Bring your favorite dish or dessert to share. Ham will be provided by the church.

THE MEANING OF ADVENT
Advent is the Christian season of spiritual preparation and anticipation for the arrival of Jesus Christ, celebrated during the four weeks leading up to Christmas. The word itself comes from the Latin "adventus," meaning "arrival" or "coming". It commemorates both Christ's first coming as a baby and anticipates his future second coming. During this time the tradition of lighting the advent candles is observed. The four candles on the Advent wreath represent the light of Christ entering the world. One candle is lit each Sunday, marking the progression of the four weeks of Advent. Each candle represents a theme for each week of Advent — hope, peace, joy, and love. Be sure and join us this Advent season beginning on Sunday, November 30, as we celebrate the coming of the Messiah!

Meetings
Tuesday - November 18 – 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday - December 16 – 6:30 p.m.

HOPE PACK FOR THE GOOD NEWS JAIL MINISTRY
It is the season, and we have officially kicked off our annual “Hope Pack” effort for inmates and staff for this holiday season. Each Christmas season your Chaplain and Chaplaincy Support Team coordinates a ministry of the community to touch inmates and staff at the Martinsville City Jail and Henry County Adult Detention Center. We collect funds to purchase items to fill a small gift bag for the inmates, and to provide some candy bars and chocolates for the staff as well. Your donation will purchase items to go into a small bag to share God’s Love with inmates. There will be some practical hygiene items like socks, toothpaste, soap, Shampoo, & deodorant, as well as some candy and snacks, The Correction’s Staff receive bags too, but the Chaplain’s Chocolate and snacks continue to be given out to officers in the following weeks as a reminder of the chaplain’s ministry. I hope you will prayerfully consider adding this outreach to your Christmas list! I hope you will be able to provide hope to an inmate again this year with your help, gifts, and cards.
In Christ,
Joe Collins, Chaplain
*OLBC will collect a special offering on Sunday, November 30 to support the “Hope Pack” ministry.

SCHOOL CLOSINGS FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER
The Wednesday evening service is NO LONGER tied to the notice of schools closing for inclement weather. The church office will send out an email IF there has been a decision to cancel Wednesday services or you can call the office or a deacon to verify the cancellation. For announcements concerning Sunday Morning Services, listen to B99 FM radio or watch TV Stations, WDBJ, Channel 7 or WSLS, Channel 10, for possible church cancellations.

THE GRACE NETWORK OF MHC
OLBC is just one of over one hundred congregations and other groups that partner with Grace Network to help families in crisis in Martinsville and Henry County. “Grace Network strives to give short-term assistance and to help find long-term solutions.” Each month we can help needy families by giving nonperishable food items, toiletries, cleaning supplies, and paper products. Check out the church bulletin to see what OLBC has pledged to give. You can be a part of this ongoing mission when you donate to this worthy cause. Visit their website at www.gracenetworkmhc.org to learn more.

Sharing the Love
Each week our folks are visiting friends throughout the community to let them know we love and care for them. Sometimes it is to sit and pray with someone suffering from injury or illness and unable to get out. At other times it's to get to know neighbors in the area and to introduce them to the ministries of Oak Level, if they do not have a church home of their own. In every instance it is another opportunity to go in the name of Jesus in order to be an ambassador of love. If you have never experienced the joy of visiting others or meeting new friends in this way, please know that you are more than welcome to join us. Visitation times are flexible according to your schedule, and there are plenty of folks that you already know who would be honored to go with you. Contact any deacon or the pastor for more information.

Newsletters
We publish our newsletter at Oak Level Baptist Church every two months. If you would like to have a copy, please feel free to download one of the newsletter PDF files.

November 2025 - December 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)
September 2025 - October 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)
July 2025 - August 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)
May 2025 - June 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)
March 2025 - April 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)
January 2025 - February 2025 Newsletter (in PDF format)

For older PDF newsletters, please click to visit our Archive page.